Joe Whinney is on a mission to change the world, one fennel mint confection and Venezuela dark chocolate bar at a time.

Whinney is founder of Seattle's Theo Chocolate and has had a love affair with the cocoa bean that goes back 20 years, to when he was a volunteer with a conservation organization working in Belize, in Central America. There he realized cocoa has tremendous cultural and economic relevance.

He also realized that if he could broaden the appeal of organically and sustainably grown cocoa, that could benefit local growers, many of whom were barely scraping by because they were receiving so little for their crops.

Upon returning to the U.S., Whinney set out to find a market. He first ran a company importing certified organic cocoa beans in Boston. And a few years ago, he moved to Seattle and launched Theo, along with a group of investors, including Seattle entrepreneur Jeff Fairhall, who had launched The Essential Baking Co. Fairhall, who died in September, was a longtime advocate for organic food and socially responsible farming.

At Theo, Whinney pioneered roasting Fair Trade Certified cocoa beans in the U.S. These beans are certified by Oakland-based nonprofit TransFair USA as Fair Trade, which means that fair prices are paid to farmers and unsafe labor practices are not allowed.

And the company says it also is the only chocolate maker that roasts its own organic cocoa beans.

Whinney's goal is to build a successful company by making popular and delicious chocolate. He also wants to show that it can be done by using organic ingredients and by using Fair Trade-certified cocoa beans that give small farmers a chance of making a better living in places like Ghana, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

"This is really a dream," said Whinney. "We're trying to be the most loved chocolate company in the world."

If sales are any indication, Theo is well on its way to achieving that goal.

Theo makes handcrafted chocolate confections, with eclectic flavors such as ginger, fig fennel and Earl Grey. The confections have a relatively short shelf life. So about 85 percent of the company's sales come from its signature Theo bars and its 3400 Phinney chocolate bars, some flavored with chai tea, coconut curry or coffee.

And speaking of love, for Valentine's Day -- an important holiday for any chocolatier -- Theo has assembled an 18-piece gift box of milk and dark chocolate caramels and ganaches.

"It's bound to work," Whinney said of the "aphrodisiac" collection. "I guarantee it."

Love elixirs aside, Whinney's company sold about 1 million chocolate bars last year. The bars can be found on the shelves locally at PCC Natural Markets and Metropolitan Market stores, among other locations. Overall, Theo sells chocolates in about 1,800 stores in 48 states, including Whole Foods. Recently, REI started stocking the chocolate bars, and so too has Pier 1 Imports.

Whinney and his backers bought the historic Red Hook brewery in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and turned it into a chocolate factory that opened in February 2006. Theo offers public and private tours of the factory at 3400 Phinney Ave. N. Last year, more than 10,000 people walked through the factory among the large machines that do everything from roasting and refining to packaging.

First-year revenues were about $600,000. In 2007, revenues topped $2 million. And in 2008, Whinney projects revenues in the $4 million range. The company launched with a handful of workers. Today, the chocolate factory employs about 35 workers.

Theo has a gift shop; it also stuffs its cracked cocoa shells in burlap sacks and sells them as mulch. There is a waiting list of gardeners.

"The joke is that Theo Chocolate is really a front for a thriving landscaping business," Whinney said.

But for Whinney, making great chocolates is no joke. Unlike many chocolate companies that buy their chocolate from manufacturers, Theo has chosen to be a "bean-to-bar" chocolate maker, one of only a handful in the U.S. To do that, Theo follows a 14-step process that allows Theo to control the quality of the chocolate. It also allows the company to make choices about where and how its cocoa beans are produced. At Theo, Whinney said his company also has the opportunity to raise awareness among consumers, which in turn will create more demand for organic and fair trade products.

Theo also is partnering with the Jane Goodall Institute, which studies chimpanzees in the wilds of Tanzania, to work on issues concerning cocoa growers there. Goodall has promoted "chimp-friendly" fair trade coffee and cocoa as a way of protecting habitat and offering economic opportunities to people who live in the region.

Whinney also must stay focused on the business side of Theo, which is in a hyper-competitive business. According to Global Exchange, a fair trade and human rights organization based in San Francisco, the $13 billion chocolate market is dominated by Hershey Foods and Mars Inc., the maker of M&Ms and Snickers. Together, those two companies account for about two-thirds of chocolate sales in the U.S.

As a startup company, Theo has not yet reached profitability, although Whinney said the company's goal is to see profits this year. And Whinney is seeking more investors and is in the midst of a second round of fund raising, with a goal of acquiring $3.5 million.

"I'm acutely aware of all the challenges in front of us," said Whinney.

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